26

THE STRIPMINER

There are basically two methods of mining coal: strip mining and deep mining. In deep mining, an intricate set of tunnels, shafts, and braces are set deep in the earth. People who work in such mines for long periods of time commonly contract “black lung disease,” the dreaded miner’s malady caused by breathing in coal particles. Deep mining is hazardous to workers in other ways. Mine entrapments, for example, in which hundreds of miners are trapped far below the surface of the earth, occur with deadly regularity.

27

THE LITTERER

The litterer today will find few defenders. He is beset on all sides, bearing the brunt of the barbs of do-gooder groups. Radio and television stations beam anti-litter messages as a “public service,” neighborhood and parent-teacher associations, church groups, and civic organizations are in agreement on the issue of littering. The film industry, which must pass over many topics as too controversial, is united in its hatred for litter. Litter is a great unifier.

28

THE WASTEMAKERS

People have long suspected that a basic business practice is to purposely manufacture products which are inferior. Businessmen, it is assumed, do not want to turn out high-quality, long lasting products. Instead, they manufacture shoddy products with “built-in” or “planned” obsolescence. When these products wear out, they must be replaced, thus manufacturers stay in business and prosper.

VIII. LABOR

29

THE FAT CAPITALIST-PIG EMPLOYER

“If not for the minimum wage law and other progressive legislation, the employers, the fat-capitalist-pig exploiting employers, to be precise, would lower wages to whatever level they wanted. At best, we would be pushed back to the days of the sweatshop; at worst, to the days of the industrial revolution and before, when mankind waged an often losing battle with starvation.”

30

THE SCAB

One of the most universally shared attitudes is that the scab is a wretched character. He is unscrupulous and sneakily in league with the “boss.” Together, scab and boss plot to deprive union workers of their rights, and of the jobs that are legitimately theirs. Scabs are hired to force union workers to accept lower wages. When it becomes known that scabs are also used to beat up union workers and pickets, the case is virtually complete—the scab is the greatest enemy of the worker.

31

THE RATE BUSTER

The scene is familiar from hundreds of movies featuring labor themes: the young eager worker comes to the factory for the first time, determined to be a productive worker. In his enthusiasm, he happily produces more than the other workers who have been at the factory many years, and who are tired, stooped, and arthritic. He is a “rate buster.”

32

THE EMPLOYER OF CHILD LABOR

High on the list of the enemies of society, one can always find the employer of child labor—cruel, cold hearted, exploitative, cunning, and evil. In the public mind, child labor is almost equivalent to slave labor, and the children’s employer is no better than the slave owner.

INDEX

abortion, 14

absolute advantage, 178

academic freedom, 51–55

addiction, drug, 28, 33–37

adulthood, 244–47

advertisers, 57–68, 215

advertising

ban on, 63–64

government-aided, 67

government ratings board for, 65

motivational and informational, 61–65

aggression, xiii, xv, xvi

airlines, 60